The present invention relates generally to latch assemblies and, in particular, to a latch assembly for latching a swinging panel hinged to a vehicle body.
Latch assemblies for vehicle swinging panels, such as vehicle doors and lift gates that are hinged to a vehicle body, are well known. A typical prior art latch assembly includes an elongated striker member that is attached to and extends outwardly from a surface of the swinging panel. A hatch latch is attached to the vehicle body. The hatch latch includes a latch throat that is adapted to receive the striker when the swinging panel is closed to lock the striker therein.
Many prior art latch assemblies utilize a pop-up feature for the swinging panel, such as for rear hatches, hoods, and four-bar hinged deck lids, among others. The pop-up feature typically includes a compression spring that cooperates with a lever to open the swinging panel when the striker member is released from the hatch latch. In order to close the swinging panel, the spring must again be compressed, which provides a disadvantageously high force that a customer must overcome with a correspondingly higher closing effort. This high closing effort is a continuing source of customer dissatisfaction and warranty claims.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a latch assembly that reduces the amount of force required to close a swinging panel to reduce customer dissatisfaction and warranty claims while not reducing the functionality of the latch assembly.